If you're among those that have been wishing for an Intel-powered Windows phone, you now have something to drool over. Leakster Evan Blass tweeted the following image, along with the question, "Powered by a laptop-class Intel processor, would this have blown your mind?"
But before we go any further, it's important to note that this is not a product that will ever see the light of day. Windows 10 Mobile does not currently support x86 processors, and Intel has abandoned its mobile efforts, so something like this simply isn't going to happen anytime soon.
A report from Thurrott.com says that the device seen in the photos was going to be made by Dell, and that's about all we know. It's not hard to imagine why it eventually got canceled, given the lack of support in Microsoft's mobile operating system.
Some might speculate that to support an Intel chip, it wouldn't have run a mobile OS at all, instead opting for "full" Windows 10. This isn't likely, as it has the Windows 10 Mobile navigation buttons and the Mobile UI.
It's also not clear what Blass meant by "laptop-class". Atom is the only chip that Intel ever made that could be put in a phone, as anything from the Core m- or i-series of processors would simply be too big for such a device, especially one that's so thin.
Blass also tweeted more promo images:
The top-left image creates even more of a mystery, as it shows a laptop that doesn't exist. It seems to have a flat keyboard, similar to what Lenovo offers in its Yoga Book. With that in mind, it seems even more likely that all of these images are little more than concepts.
It would seem that the future for running desktop apps in a Continuum environment is virtualization, which is the solution that HP offers with its Workspace service and the Elite x3. But while it's fun to take a look at what might have been, we shouldn't hold our breath for an Intel-powered Windows phone anytime soon.
29 Comments - Add comment